Moving On Up

Though I am not yet a graduating senior, I still had one of my "lasts" last night. As I have talked about on the blog before, I am involved in an organization called YoungLife, and I am specifically involved with WyldLife, which is YoungLife for middle school students. I work specifically with eighth grade girls, who as of last night, officially "graduated" to YoungLife club. Since I still have one more year of school, I get to move up to YoungLife and high school with them. So, last night was my last WyldLife club, too. I just can't believe how fast time has gone. I have loved having them as middle schoolers, and I can't wait for the adventures still to come as their YoungLife leader.

Graduation Club

Old girl leaders

We even got to see a rainbow

And then the paint wars started 

Campaigners

Placement Night 2013

Workout

Today's workout was the same as last Tuesday's workout - BodyPump! I tend to get bored when I do weights on my own, or I will train some muscles and not others, so BodyPump is the perfect class for me to make sure I am fitting in a little bit of everything.

Today's track was a bit different from the track we have been doing these past two weeks. It incorporated a little bit of old and a little bit of new, and I really liked it. The highlights from today's class were the front squats, which are surprisingly difficult,

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front-to-back lunges while holding weights, and the fact that we did our back track to this song:

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I really enjoyed the class today, and I followed up the class with 20 minutes on the treadmill. I ran a little over two miles and then walked on an incline for the remaining few minutes. An excellent Tuesday workout, I'd say!

I hope you enjoy your last few hours of April. I can't believe it's already going to be May. Next thing I know I'll be done with finals!

Spin Certification

Happy muggy Monday from Austin! It is nice and steamy outside thanks to a little mid-afternoon shower, which should make for some really pleasant weather for YoungLife tonight. It's taking place in a park, so let's hope that the temperature cools off a bit, and that the rain holds off at least until 8:00pm!

Workout

It's about that time of year where I start trading in my running shoes for my one-piece and goggles. Not that I haven't already been swimming quite a bit, but I have also been balancing it with running. However, with what was probably my last 10K of the race season this past Saturday in Houston, I can finally tone down the running and try out some new workouts and exercises. Don't get me wrong, I will still be running, but it will likely be more sprint and treadmill workouts than long-distance running. While I don't mind the heat, the humidity really gets to me, and a combination of heat and humidity is almost unbearable. So, I will be trying out some new and (hopefully) exciting workouts to share with you guys these next few months.

The medal from the Green 6.2 race this weekend

Anyway, moving on to today's workout, I did quite a bit of studying and work this morning, so around 11:15am, I biked on over to Gregory Gym for a swim workout. I completed my usual 80 laps, but I am also going to start looking for and creating new swim workouts so that I don't get bored with swimming, because it really is one of my favorite ways to exercise. It's relaxing, easy on the joints, and the easiest way to get a tan! 

Lunch

Lunch today was one of the best that I have had in a while. While I was home this weekend, my family obviously enjoyed a few meals from Hungry's, so on Saturday afternoon before I drove back to Austin, I made sure to order an extra meal that I could enjoy one day this week. That day was today, and it was so good.

I opted to try something that I have never tried before, the Beef Tenderloin Fajita Wrap, and I absolutely loved it. It might even be my new favorite. The wrap consists of beef tenderloin, avocado, rice, black beans, lettuce, and tomatoes, all wrapped up in a whole wheat tortilla. I personally omitted the cheese and chipotle chili sauce, but both of those toppings are also included. It was a winner, and the best part is that I still have half of it left to enjoy later this week.

And now for the exciting news. It is no secret that I love fitness and exercise, and would one day like to become a personal trainer. I thought about studying for it this summer, but I am really looking forward to a summer of no school or study commitments. Plus, it's not like I would really be able to use it for a while, so I am holding off for a couple of years. But, I am getting my spin certification this summer! I mentioned on Friday that I was thinning about making spin instructor certification my summer project. I did a bit of research and found that there is a gym in Austin that is hosting a Saturday spin instructor certification orientation. It runs from 9am to 6pm and will do almost everything to prepare us for the certification exam that you take online anytime after you finish orientation. I talked to my parents about it and they agreed that it sounded like a good investment, and like something that I would enjoy having. Though I don't know how much use I will get out of it next school year, it will be great to have because you never know what opportunities will present themselves. I can't wait to tell you guys all about it, and maybe you can even take a spin class from me one day in the future!

And now I must get back to the study grind, and then I am off to YoungLife! Enjoy the rest of your Monday!

No Sugar Added Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I promised you guys a new recipe, and a new recipe is what you are going to get. One of my high school volleyball coaches seems to have picked up on the fact that I love baking, and that I really love it when not-so-healthy recipes can be made healthy. Today's recipe is in the latter category, and as I am sure you were able to guess from the title - today's recipe is a cookie recipe!

The finished product

Like I said, my coach posted this no sugar added cookie recipe to Facebook last night. I have seen variations of this recipe while scrolling through Pinterest, but I have never given it a try. I did make a few adjustments to the original recipe, but that is because I didn't want an overwhelming banana flavor in my cookies, and because I wanted their firmness to resemble regular cookies at least a little bit! I went to the store last night to make sure I had all the necessary ingredients, and this is what you will need should you choose to recreate this recipe the way I did.

Ingredients

• 2 ripe banans
• 1 (large) spoonful almond butter
• 2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup almond milk (or any milk of your choice)
• Optional: 1/3 cup coconut
• Optional: 1/3 cup raisins
• Optional: handful of mini chocolate chips
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Sprinkle of cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Mash bananas in a large bowl

3. Stir in spoonful of almond butter

4. Stir in applesauce

5. Add oats and stir

6. Add milk and any optional ingredients

7. Add in vanilla and sprinkle in some cinnamon

8. Stir everything together really well and spoon cookies onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet

9. Bake for approximately 22 minutes

Yields: 18 cookies

Warning: spooning these cookies onto the cookie sheet is much easier said than done. These are not like regular cookies in that they form easily into balls. What I did with each spoonful was gently dropping it on the parchment paper and playing with it until it formed a circle(ish) shape.

These cookies ended up resembling my banana-oatmeal-almond butter muffins, with just a few minor differences. I had two before after lunch, and I really liked them. I see more of them in my future. In terms of how my recipe differs from the original recipe, I added in almond butter, coconut, and chocolate chips (because who doesn't want chocolate in their cookies?), in addition to omitting one of the bananas. I felt as though three bananas would leave me with an overwhelming banana taste. Don't get me wrong, I love bananas, but I  wasn't really feeling mushy cookies!

Also, for those of you out there who are hesitant about the addition of applesauce, don't be. I was hesitant about it because of all the sugar that is normally found in it, but using no sugar added applesauce quickly squashed that fear. And if you are hesitant to use it because you don't like applesauce (I'm with you - it's the texture!), don't worry about that either, because I promise you won't be able to taste it. It's used for baking purposes only.

So, if you have a sweet tooth, but don't want to completely wreck your healthy diet, give these cookies a try. They are easy to make, (somewhat) nutritious, and delicious - a winning combo in my book!

Breakfast + Spin

I really don't have anything very interesting to report this morning, but I promised more regular posts, so I apologize if you are bored by the next few paragraphs.

I fell asleep watching the NFL draft last night - I actually fell asleep shortly after the Texans pick, and people seem to be happy enough with him for me to get excited about this upcoming football season. Anyway, as a result of my early bedtime, I woke up around 7:15am, ready to greet the day. I knew I wanted to attend a 9:15am spin class, so I got to work preparing breakfast so that it would have time to digest before my spin class started.

I whipped up my current go-to breakfast: egg whites and sauteed spinach topped with salsa, and ate them alongside the last three of my oatmeal-banana-almond butter muffins and a handful of grapes. I was left feeling a bit full by the time my class rolled around, but at least I can take comfort in the fact that everything I ate was healthy? We'll just go with that.

Workout

Since I am home, I knew I was going to take advantage of one of my favorite spin classes in either Houston or Austin - the Friday morning spin class with Betsy at the MAC. This is a 70-minute spin class, and those extra ten minutes really make a difference. Today's class was a really great one. We alternated between strength and hill training and speed work. The last four minutes were tough - I considered it to be a type of tabata workout if you are familiar with that term. We sprinted for 20 seconds, and then we had ten seconds of recovery, and we did that for four minutes. You might not think it would be that hard, but give it a try during your next bike workout - but do it at the end so that once you finish, all you have left is the cool-down.

Anyway, we covered around 28 miles in 70 minutes, and I left nice and sweaty, just like I always do. I made the decision this morning that I would really love to teach spin classes one day. There are so many different focal points in a spin class, and I think I would have a lot of fun coming up with different spin workouts that would challenge my riders. Becoming a certified spin instructor might just turn into my summer project - stay tuned!

And now I am off to do some studying at our local Barnes and Noble - I have my second-to-last test of the semester on Tuesday, and if I can just maintain the grades I have made on the past three tests, I will be golden. But I put in quite a bit of study time for those tests, so I need to be sure to do the same for this one. It's hard to motivate myself to study when I'm at home, but since my brother is at school and my parents are both at work, I should be able to get in some good study time.

And for those of you who have been disappointed with the lack of recipes lately, fear not, because I will be back in a few hours with a new recipe just for you guys. Here's a little sneak preview.

Enjoy your Friday!

Extended Absence

I hope you all accept my apology for my extended absence from the blog world. But, to be fair, I did tell you that this week of school was a tough one for me, I just didn't realize how busy I was actually going to be. I'll give you a short recap, which will be mostly school-related, which I am sure will bore most of you to tears. Fear not, the workout and food-related posts will be back tomorrow, especially because I am in Houston for the next two days for a 10K run that is taking place on Saturday. If you happen to be in Houston, you should sign up to run it with me - it's guaranteed to be a great run!

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If you have been noticing the lack of sweet treats on the blog, check out this cake that I made for one of my YoungLife teammates on Sunday. His 21st birthday was this past Monday, so we turned our weekly Sunday night meeting into a team dinner. As I am the unofficial team baker, I scoured Pinterest for an extra-special recipe. I knew he liked Oreos, so when I found this no-bake ice cream sandwich cake that was topped with Oreo pieces, I knew I had found a winner.

In terms of school, I had one research paper due on Tuesday, another research paper rough draft and peer review due on Tuesday, a quiz on Tuesday, and an exam this morning. Let's start from the beginning. My research paper was for my adolescent development class, and I was required to formulate a research question that I would answer by actually interviewing an adolescent. Because I was allowed to pick my topic, I chose to investigate female adolescent body image. Based on what we had learned in class, as well as my own personal adolescent experience, I know that adolescent girls struggle with body image. I certainly did, and sometimes I still do! I interviewed one of my YoungLife girls, and her answers were so refreshing. It was really encouraging to learn that she, as well as her group of friends, all have a relatively positive overall body image. It was a really fun and enlightening paper to write, though it does feel good to have two out of three research papers complete.

As for my other research paper, I briefly mentioned how awesome my former English teachers are. Why are they awesome? Because they so kindly took the time to fill out a survey that would help me come up with a couple of conclusions about English teachers and prescriptive rules. In this research paper, I am investigating certain prescriptive (grammatical) rules, and English teacher's responses to these violations in student papers. The final paper isn't due for a couple of weeks, so I had a hard time motivating myself to put 100% effort into the rough draft, but it does feel good knowing that I have done a majority of the research and just have a few organizational things left to work on. I'll be sure to share the results with you guys once I have it fully complete. Though many of you are probably not very interested my findings, I found the results pretty interesting. I guess that's a sign that I'm in the right major!

The quiz and the test were in the same class - my Wit and Witchcraft in Renaissance Drama English class. The class has been extremely interesting, and my professor is just precious. And I suppose he knows a little bit about the subject matter. Anyway, throughout the last half of the class we read Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, and The Tempest, and Middleton's The Changeling. I am a big Shakespeare fan, and I really enjoyed those two plays. They have a very encouraging outcome, whereas The Changeling did not quite come to the same conclusion. In any case, I am officially done with that class, and I can honestly say it has been one of my college favorites.

A scene from The Winter's Tale - a play about renewal, forgiveness, and reconciliation (Source)

And now I am sitting on my couch, watching the NFL draft with my mom, having just enjoyed a meal from my all-time favorite restaurant - you guessed it - Hungry's. Life is good. I hope to be more regular with my posts in these upcoming two weeks, but give me a little leeway room, as I still have exactly two weeks until I am completely done with my junior year of college. It's officially crunch time!

May Books

I am completely unashamed of the fact that I already have my planner ready to go for the next school year. Yes, there are still a few weeks left in this one, but ever since I attended my information meeting regarding my internship and student teaching, I have been on the hunt for the perfect planner. In the meeting, the professors (and former students) really emphasized the importance of having a good planner. There is a lot that goes on throughout the semester, and possessing a good planner is really the only way to keep up with all of it. I love planners and lists and staying organized, but I often neglect using my planner about halfway through the school year, mainly because it becomes too big and bulky to carry around with me. When I saw a link to May Books on Pinterest, I knew I had found my match.

The planner is small, but with lots of room to write. And that's not even the best part. The best part is that you can completely customize the planner to look just how you want it to look. That may not excite some of you, but customizing and personalizing things is right up my alley, so I knew I was in the right place. You probably know by now that I love all things pink, so a pink background was a no-brainer. The tough part was the personalization, but I love the way it turned out. New school supplies always make me oddly excited for the start of a new year, which I guess is a good thing, because I have quite a few of them ahead of me!

Workout

This cold spring weather is not really doing it for me. One of the many things I love about living in Texas is the ability to wear shorts and t-shirt throughout most of the year. This year, however, it is getting closer to the end of April and I am still having to wear sweatshirts and pants. The weather is also interfering with my swims. As you may or may not remember, I signed up to participate in the Cap Tex Tri that will be happening at the end of May, and though I am fairly confident in my swimming abilities, I would still like to keep swimming a consistent part of my exercise routine.

So, I waited until the temperature hit 70 degrees, and I biked on over to Gregory Gym for a swim. I snagged a lane all to myself and swam my usual 80 laps. I am still pretty sore from the Body Pump class I took on Thursday, so I was moving a bit slower than usual, but I still tried to push myself at least a little bit. Immediately after getting out of the pool, I bit into a big, juicy honeycrisp apple. It hit the post-workout spot.

And though I wish I could spend the rest of this beautiful day outside, this next week is crazy for me, so I will unfortunately be spending it inside doing reading, reading, and more reading. Life of an English major, you know?

Five Things Friday

In light of the recent tragedies that have hit us this week, I figured I'd do a simple post listing five things that bring me joy or that I am thankful for this week.

the view from my mid-morning run

The tragedy at the Boston Marathon hit me hard. As a non-runner-turned-runner, I know how hard each and every single one of those runners trained. Each runner has his or her own story of how he or she got there, and to have it taken away like that just broke my heart. Today, I am thankful for legs that allow me to walk and run, as I completed a 3.5-mile run around Town Lake before walking the 3-mile loop.

getting to spend Tuesday night with my best friend in College Station

We had dinner at Blue Baker

I have been telling Gayle for almost two years now that I would come visit her in College Station and attend Breakaway with her. Gayle started volunteering with Breakaway at the beginning of her sophomore year and has just loved it. I've heard from many people how incredible it is, and this past Tuesday, I finally got to go and experience it for myself. It was such an incredible experience, and it's so cool to see how much it has grown from when it first started with 12 students gathering in a single apartment.

sweet notes from my roommates

I woke up on Thursday morning just before 7:00am, not quite awake yet, and knowing that I had four classes to face today. I walked into the bathroom and found the sweetest note taped to the mirror, courtesy of my Suite One roommate, Sarah. I'm sure you all recognize her from my various travel posts. She's such an incredible friend and roommate, and I am so thankful for her. This note made my whole day start off on a positive note (which was a good thing, considering the fact that not even 30 minutes later I got caught in a torrential downpour).

this Michael Buble song

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This song came on during my run this morning and it really has been such a beautiful day. I do enjoy the occasional rainy day, if I can snuggle up under a blanket with a good book, but I much prefer days that are filled with sunshine. This song just puts a little pep in my step, and you should all give it a listen.

registering for my last fall semester of classes

Not the best form, is it?

On Tuesday morning, I registered for my last fall semester of classes. For once, I got every single class I wanted on the very first try. Since I only have nine hours that I have to take to finish out my major, I signed up for some fun classes - an advertising class and a tennis class. I am so excited for this upcoming semester of teaching, but I won't lie and say that the class for which I am most excited is my tennis class. I have the future goal of becoming a rockstar tennis mom, so this is the first step to accomplishing that goal.

Five Things Friday might become my new Survey Sunday, since I've clearly been slacking on that front. I'm off to campaigners, and then to watch some of my girls perform in the Anderson High School spring show. See y'all tomorrow!

Soaked

My day started off on a cold and wet note, as I made the decision to bike to school even after my roommates told me that it was not only going to rain, but that the temperature was going to drop significantly. I made it about 50 feet before the rain started, but I thought I could make it to campus before the rain really picked up. Not so much. I was absolutely soaked, and I had only my umbrella to keep me dry as I walked from my bike to my class. Thankfully, my day only got better from there.

Workout

As you have probably noticed, I like to swim on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. I get out of class at 1:45pm, and since I am already on campus, I figure that I can just knock out my workout for the day before heading back home to get work done. Today was clearly not one of those swim-friendly days, so I was forced to settle with a different form of exercise.

I elected to take a 6:30pm Body Pump class at the gym. I haven't taken a Body Pump class in weeks, probably even months, and I knew this would challenge me. And, it did. There was a new release two weeks ago and it is tough. The bicep and lunge tracks are always difficult for me, but today was especially tough. Though that might have been because I haven't worked my muscles in that way in quite some time. During the lunge track, I felt as though I was back in my volleyball element with a move called the plyometric straddle jump. Try and visualize this one with me.

• Straddle the bench
• Chest up, abs braced
• Jump up and land on the bench with soft knees
• Explode off the bench - get some air time!
• Land straddling the bench

It looks like this, but EXPLODE with your arms too - like a star jump (Source)

Try it sometime, I guarantee you will love it! Well, I can't guarantee you will love it, but it will probably make you smile while doing it. I followed my Body Pump class with 20 minutes of walking on the treadmill. I covered 1.38 miles while reading a book for fun. It might be my last time to do that for a few weeks!

And now I am off to hopefully be extremely productive on the homework front. Normally my crazy week is the last week of class, but for some reason, next week is my crazy week. So my weekend will be filled with lots of paper writing, reading, and studying. Not ideal, but we're on the home stretch! Just a few more weeks, and there's lots to look forward to this summer!

Switching Gears

It's a hot and humid Monday here in Austin, and though I welcome the heat with sweaty arms, I could do without the humidity. But, beggars can't be choosers, and I will gladly take the humidity if it means wearing shorts and t-shirt every day - the real world is going to hit me hard! Anyway, this Monday started off nice and early as I got out of bed around 7:30am and immediately got to work. I have quite a few major papers due within these next few weeks, so I have been neglecting much of my other work in favor of the papers.I had quite a bit of reading to catch up on, so I worked on that until about 10:30am, when I finally made my way over to the gym for a workout.

All that's left

This past weekend I read my favorite blog (Peanut Butter Fingers), and saw that she posted a workout that was all over the place. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do today at the gym, so I loosely followed her workout plan.

I started my workout off with ten minutes of running on the treadmill. I ran at a 7.5mph pace, so I covered approximately 1.25 miles in ten minutes. When my time was up, I hopped off the treadmill and set myself up in a corner of the gym with a jump rope and a few free weights. I complete a ten-minute mini-circuit that looked like this:

Burpees never fail to leave me gasping for breath, and today was no exception. They are just so tough! And I think I was scarred from burpee experience in eighth grade, but that's a story for another time. Anyway, after I completed the mini-circuit, I jumped on an elliptical and pedaled away on that for ten minutes. Ellipticals are not my favorite cardio machine, but if you bump up the incline, you can really get a good workout. After my time on the elliptical, next on the agenda was round two of my mini-circuit. Once again, the burpees just about killed me.

This is me after burpees (Source)

Finally, I hopped back on the treadmill and rounded out my workout with another ten-minute run. I didn't have quite as much energy as I did when I started the workout, so I ran it a bit slower than I did to start it off. I was nice and sweaty upon leaving the gym, and I caught myself thinking about how productive I had been before it even hit noon. It hit me that I only have one more year to take advantage of this college schedule before I'm forced into working normal people hours.

And before I sign off, I just caught word of the explosions at the Boston Marathon finish line. Why anyone would want to ruin such an incredible event is beyond me. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in the marathon - participants, spectators, and volunteers. It truly breaks my heart to read of this tragedy. What is supposed to be a day of joy, perseverance, and celebration has been overtaken by darkness, and I pray that Jesus' everlasting light can shine through it.

Will Run For Ice Cream

Looking back on the races I have done so far this year, I have done a race that involves chocolate, and I have now done a race that involves ice cream. I'm sensing a pattern here. Anyway, this was my third year participating in the Blue Bell Fun Run, and it was just as much fun as it has been in the past. When my alarm went off in the early 5:00 hour, I seriously considered turning it off and going back to sleep, but I knew I would have a good time, so I dragged myself out of bed, quickly got dressed and brushed my teeth, grabbed a banana and to-go pack of peanut butter, and flew out the door to meet Alex, who so kindly drove Katie and me to the race.

Year one

Year two

Murchison ladies

We had a great time on the drive over, so that made it a little easier to forget how early it still was. We were also greeted with an incredible Texas sunrise, that I obviously couldn't resist capturing (and Instagramming).

That's what I love about Texas

The Race

It was a bit chilly when we walked out the door this morning, but it quickly warmed up and it was the perfect temperature when the race started at 8:30am. It was also a beautiful day, and because we were in Brenham, we couldn't resist taking a picture in the bluebonnets before we started the race.

Dream Team

Immediately after this picture was taken, we headed to the top of the hill to get ready for the start of the race. It started right on time, which I really appreciated, and Katie and I were off. We stuck together for the majority of the race, or at least in very close proximity to one another. We run at a pretty similar speed, and we were both feeling a bit unprepared for this race, so we still managed to run at the same pace.I didn't really hit my groove until mile four, because before that, I was struggling. My legs were pretty stiff and I was just having a hard time with some of the hills - I'll blame that on my lack of hill training. But once I hit mile four, I felt as though I could have run forever. Just kidding, but I had enough strength to make it up the final hill. I looked at my watch and I think it took me between three and four minutes to make it to the top. It was rough, but the best part is that all you have left is the downhill to the finish line (and to the ice cream).

Alex finished in a quick 43 minutes, while Katie and I finished right around 52 minutes. We were pretty pleased, but all three of us immediately commented on how sore our legs were already feeling. Getting out of bed tomorrow might be a little tougher than usual! After cooling off a bit, we started in on the ice cream and put our race numbers into the raffle. Much to our surprise, Alex won a coupon for a gallon of Blue Bell ice cream from his favorite grocer. Worth the drive to Brenham, I'd say!

My gallon of choice (Source)

We got back to Austin right around 12:30pm, so I made myself a dairy-free pizza for lunch, took a speedy shower while it was in the oven, and started to work on yet another paper. I took a break to do some baking, and now I'm about to pass out on the couch before I babysit tonight. I hope you are enjoying your Saturday!